Connor Jessup, 22, is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Ben Mason on TNT’s Falling Skies. In 2012, Jessup’s performance in Blackbird earned him a “Rising Star” accolade, and he was later named one of Variety’s “Actors to Watch”. (Getty)

Programming Insider

ON THIS DAY
CBS sitcom “Alice,” based on 1974 theatrical “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” opened in 1976. The series ran for nine seasons…Tito andJermaine Jackson walked off the set of NBC’s “Today” show in 1993 when a crew arrived to interview the two about the troubles of their brother Michaelwith the Los Angeles Police Department…The final episode of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” hosted by Fred Rogers, aired on PBS in 2001. It debuted on Feb. 19, 1968…Celebrity birthdays: Actor Richard Gere is 68; singer Debbie Gibson is 47.

Did You Know?:Polly Holliday, who played sassy Florence Jean Castleberry on “Alice,” was featured in spin-off “Flo” from 1980-81. Her replacement, Diane Ladd as Belle, played Flo in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” When Ladd exited “Alice” after one tumultuous season, Celia Weston joined the cast as Jolene at the end of season five and remained until the series-finale on March 19, 1985. Kiss my grits!

RATINGS BOX Wednesday 8/30/17Note: The Houston market is excluded from the following averages.

Ratings Breakdown:
A one-hour live edition of “America’s Got Talent” (7.2 rating/13 share from 8-9 p.m.) stood well above the competition, besting competing “Big Brother” on CBS (3.9/ 7) by 85 percent and leading NBC to Wednesday overnight victory.“Big Brother” spoiler alert: if you did not see last night’s episode yet stop reading. Finally!!! Someone in the “Big Brother” house went against Paul’s wishes and stood on his own. What did you think of Jason keeping Matt and Raven on the block? Click here

Two episodes of recently introduced NBC sitcom “Marlon” (9 p.m.: #1, 3.2/ 5;9:30 p.m.: #2: 2.5/ 4) has now officially settled in, but overnight retention for the 9 p.m. installment out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of “AGT” (7.5/13) was lacking at just 43 percent.

In premiere news, two episodes of animated digital series “Vixen” on The CW could only muster a 0.5/ 1 in the household overnights from 8-10 p.m. That competed with an average 2.6/ 5 for back-to-back episodes of “MasterChef” on Fox.

Also original last night was failing CBS drama “Salvation” (#4: 2.2/ 4 at 9 p.m.), which dropped by 44 percent from lead-in “Big Brother,” and a 10 p.m.edition of ABC’s “20/20” focusing on Hurricane Harvey at a 2.6/ 5.

For the half-hour household overnight breakdown for Wednesday, August 30, click here

NBC Snags Legal Drama Pilot “Closure”
NBC has landed “Closure,” a proposed legal procedural drama from “Drop Dead Diva” creator Josh Berman, “Underground” executive producer (and singer/songwriter) John Legend and Sony Pictures TV Studios. Written by Berman and produced through his Osprey production banner, “Closure” is based on the story of Serena Nunn, who at age 19 was sentenced to 15 years for conspiracy to distribute drugs, despite her being a student and her negligible role in the crime as the girlfriend of a drug dealer. Nunn became victim of the mandatory minimum sentencing for drug crimes, and, eight years into her jail term, she was featured in a newspaper article about the controversial practice. It got the attention of a young lawyer, Sam Sheldon, who filed a petition for a presidential commutation on her behalf. Supported by the governor of Minnesota, where Nunn had been raised, and Nunn’s sentencing judge, the petition was granted by then-President Bill Clinton.

When Nunn’s sentence was commuted after 11 years, she went on to earn a college and law school degrees and is now a practicing lawyer.

Poker Central and Roundhead Creative Group Partner for Reality Series “Major Wager”
Poker Central has teamed up with Roundhead Creative to create and produce a five-episode, reality series called “Major Wage, which features poker’s biggest names creating some of the most absurd prop bets against one another. It will stream exclusively on PokerGO and launch the week of September 4. Hosted by poker podcaster Joey Ingram, this premiere season will feature pros turned contestants Sam Abernathy, Daniel Negreanu, Brian Rast, Antonio Esfandiari, and Jeff Gross.

SERIES RENEWALS AND CANCELLATIONS

TLC Greenlights Season 2 of “Nate & Jeremiah By Design”
TLC has announced the renewal of design themed “Nate & Jeremiah By Design” for a second season, with an unconfirmed number of new episodes for 2018. Produced by Asylum Entertainment, the series follows interior designers and husbands Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent as they help distressed homeowners turn renovation failures into dream homes, while juggling married life and parenting their 2-year-old daughter Poppy.

The logline: In each one-hour episode, Nate and Jeremiah use their talent and design know-how to transform lives through design, helping homeowners who are novices in the midst of DIY disasters or inescapable renovation wrecks. Keeping budget in mind, the duo boldly revisits the space to reimagine a practical and stylish layout.

The Paley Center Salutes “Will & Grace”
In anticipation of the return of NBC sitcom “Will & Grace” on Sept. 28, the network and The Paley Center for Media are collaborating on an hour-long special called “The Paley Center Salutes the Best of Will & Grace.” Airing onTuesday, Sept. 19 at 10 p.m. ET, the special will feature the best moments and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage from the show’s original eight seasons. Featured will be stars Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally, creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, and director James Burrows.

Michael Thorn has been appointed President of Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), where he will assume responsibility for scripted programming and development, and casting at the network. He will report to Fox Television Group Chairmen and CEOs Gary Newman and Dana Walden, and he replaces David Madden, who will step down from his current role at the end of the month to pursue other opportunities. Most recently, Thorn was Executive Vice President of Development at TCFTV, where he led scripted development efforts for the studio (including NBC’s “This Is Us” and Fox’s “Empire”).

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Cinemax will debut animated “Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Bus Tour,” which chronicles the tales of some of country music’s most legendary artists, on Friday, sept. 22 at 10 p.m. ET. The series will feature interviews with former bandmates, friends and other associates, who share uncensored anecdotes about the exploits of these artists, brought to life by animated reenactments, woven together with live-action archival performance footage and photos.

Season one of upcoming Amazon drama “Tin Star,” starring Tim Roth (“The Hateful Eight”) and Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men”) – all 10 episodes – will be available on Prime Video in the U.S. on Friday, Sept. 29. Set in the Canadian Rockies, “Tin Star” tells the story of Jim Worth (Roth), a former British detective now small town police chief, who brings his family to the tiny, tranquil town of Little Big Bear for a better life. When a vast new oil refinery, fronted by corporate liaison Elizabeth Bradshaw (Hendricks), opens nearby and their new home is flooded with workers looking for drugs, gambling and prostitution, Jim has to work hard to protect his family and the town from organized crime.

OWN drama “Queen Sugar” will return with a two-night midseason premiere on Tuesday, October 3 at 10 p.m. ET (after a new episode of Tyler Perry’s “If Loving You Is Wrong” at 9 p.m. ET) and Wednesday, October 4 at 10 p.m. ET. The series regularly airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET and chronicles the lives and loves of the Bordelon siblings in Louisiana. It stars Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner and Kofi Siriboe.

Sundance Now, AMC Networks’ video streaming service, will debut miniseries“Rillington Place,” starring Tim Roth (“Tin Star”) and Samantha Morton (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, In America”) on Thursday, Oct. 5. “Rillington Place” explores the life of John Christie (Roth) and the real-life multiple murders carried out by the serial killer in London’s Notting Hill in the 1940s and 1950s. Presenting each episode from the separate viewpoints of Ethel, Timothy and finally Christie, writers Ed Whitmore and Tracey Malone drew on original source material from London’s National Archives, alongside new interviews with surviving relatives, to retrace the steps that led Timothy to be accused of murder whilst Christie went unchallenged until his arrest in 1953.

In addition, Sundance Now announced the Thursday, November 2nd premiere for the scripted original co-production, “Back,” created and written by Oscar nominee Simon Blackwell (“Veep”), directed by Ben Palmer (“The Inbetweeners”) and starring David Mitchell (“Peep Show”) and Robert Webb (“Peep Show”).

Made-for television movie “Bobbi Kristina,” starring Joy Rovaris (“Stuck in the Middle”) as the daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, will debut on TV One on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET. Beginning immediately after the passing of her mother, the story delves into Bobbi Kristina’s struggle to come to terms with Houston’s sudden departure and the complexities of her own life.

PI POLLS
What Thursday night network series are you most looking forward to this fall? Click here

ON THE AIR TONIGHT
Season finales: “The Night Shift” on NBC, “Botched” on E! and “Mysteries of the Abandoned” on Science…For the complete primetime schedule for Thursday, August 31, click here

TRIVIA CHALLENGE

An Early Reality

Which one of the following TV characters was featured alongside his family in a fictional reality series called “Real Families”?